Also called a network interface card (NIC), a network adapter is a plug-in card that enables a computer to transmit and receive data on a local network. Today, the term refers to an Ethernet adapter, although in the past, Token Ring, LocalTalk and FDDI networks were used.
Hypernyms (dependability is a kind of...): responsibility; responsibleness (a form of trustworthiness; the trait of being answerable to someone for something or being responsible for one's conduct) Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of dependability): solidity; solidness (the quality of being solid and reliable financially or factually or morally) infallibility (the quality of never making an error) duplicability; reproducibility (the quality of being reproducible)
Part of the Computing fundamentals glossary: Reliability is an attribute of any computer-related component (software, or hardware, or a network, for example) that consistently performs according to its specifications. It has long been considered one of three related attributes that must be considered when making, buying, or using a computer product or component. Reliability, availability, and serviceability-RAS, for short-are considered to be important aspects to design into any system. In theory, a reliable product is totally free of technical errors; in practice, however, vendors frequently express a product's reliability quotient as a percentage.